The Foreign Service Journal, October 2019

12 OCTOBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL lines; there is no inherent shame or honor in choosing to work for this administra- tion or not, so long as it is a conscious choice,” she wrote. “Some of the most noble work is being done by those who have chosen to stay in the State Depart- ment, advocating sensible policies or simply keeping the important bureau- cracy of our lead foreign affairs agency running. “When you’re a Foreign Service officer, your job is to support the administration. Without exception. Despite my per- sonal views, I spent more than two years working to carry out the administration’s immigration and foreign policy priorities. I continued to do so until the very minute I handed in my badge and headed to the airport,” she concluded. “But on Friday, I cleared immigration and officially returned to life as a private citizen. And today I have a new challenge: putting my time and energy into helping elect new leadership that serves the true interests of all Americans, regardless of where they were born.” (See Speaking Out, on p. 17, for a response to the Chuck Park resignation from FSO Andrew Kelly.) U.S., Russia Scrap INF Treaty T he United States officially with- drew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Aug. 2. Presi- dent Trump had announced the admin- istration’s intention to exit the treaty in October 2018. The INF Treaty was signed by Presi- dent Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in Decem- ber 1987. It prohibited either party from fielding conventional or nuclear ground- launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, eliminating an entire category of weapons. Because of their relatively limited range but fast speed, this class of missiles was considered especially volatile during cri- ses: they could be used to launch nuclear attacks allowing barely any time to react. As a result of the treaty, both the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed more than 2,000 missiles by the time the treaty went into force on June 1, 1991. “Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an Aug. 2 statement. The United States alleges that during the mid-2000s Russia developed and fielded multiple battalions of a noncompliant missile, the SSC-8 ground-launched cruise missile. Washington first spelled out its con- cerns with Russia over the missile in 2013, and went on to raise the subject of the violation in more than 30 engagements, including at the highest levels. But, according to the State Department, “we were met only with obfuscation, false- hoods and denials.” China’s burgeoning military develop- ment may also have influenced the U.S. decision to withdraw from the treaty. “If Russia’s doing it and if China’s doing it and we’re adhering to the agreement, that’s unacceptable,” President Trump said at a campaign rally last year. China was never a signatory to the INF Treaty, allowing it to build up a significant inven- tory of missiles. About 95 percent of China’s missile force falls within the intermediate-range category, according to Admiral Harry Harris, then-commander of the U.S. Pacific Command and current U.S. ambassador to South Korea. However, most Chinese mis- siles are conventional; the United States and Russia possess more than 90 percent of global nuclear weapons. The Pentagon announced Aug. 19 that it had tested a conventional ground- launched cruise missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers, the first such test since the United States withdrew from the treaty. It would have been non- compliant under the INF. In response to the test, Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin on Aug. 23 ordered the Russian Ministry of Defense to “take comprehensive measures to prepare a symmetrical answer.” OIG: Politically Motivated Harassment at State A n Office of the Inspector General report, released in August, found evidence of the mistreatment of career employees in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO). “These inappropriate practices included disrespectful and hostile treat- ment of employees, accusations against and harassment of career employees pre- mised on claims that they were ‘disloyal’ based on their perceived political views, and retaliation associated with conflicts of interest,” the report stated. The Washington Post on Aug. 15 called the report “a sweeping condemnation” of political appointee Ambassador Kevin Moley—assistant secretary for interna- tional affairs and former ambassador to the U.S. Mission to International Organi- zations in Geneva—and his former senior adviser, Mari Stull. Ms. Stull, a former lobbyist and wine blogger known online as Vino Vixen, is no longer with the department. But while serving, she vetted the social media accounts of senior-level Foreign Service members in search of “signs of ideologi- cal deviation,” Foreign Policy reported in June 2018. The OIG found that Amb. Moley and Ms. Stull “frequently berated employ- ees, raised their voices, and generally